North African

Make the most of these salty, tangy, one-and-done flavor boosters.

Tagine-inspired flavors, saucy lamb, and crunchy raw carrot salad—what’s not to love?

This homey one-pot stew boasts a short ingredient list but tons of complex flavors, built over three hours in a mostly hands-off braise.

This version of Egyptian musaqa’a from author Aisha Abdel Gawad is a vegetarian spin, featuring hearty lentils and smoky eggplant.

This Moroccan-inspired lamb is coated with ras el hanout, preserved lemon, and harissa. Don’t skip the dried apricots, which get jammy and caramelized in the oven.

Peak-season tomatoes along with chickpeas, toasted almonds, and harissa make for a complete flavor bomb in just one skillet.

You don’t need a tagine, a conical earthenware pot typically from Morocco, to make this warming, fragrant, tender lamb stew.

Harissa and lamb are a fantastic marriage in this hearty stew with minty yogurt.

Impossibly soft and caramelized green beans that only ask one thing of you: patience while they roast.

Salty, lacy-edged Halloumi covered in warm honey and sprinkled with nutty dukkah—what’s not to love?

Garlicky toast smoothed with harissa yogurt and topped with chickpeas = the perfect vegetarian tartine.

This isn’t the thick harissa that resembles a paste. Treat it like your favorite barbecue sauce and smother grilled steak and chicken with it.

This irresistibly smoky-spicy condiment lasts for a month and perks up everything from scrambled eggs to lamb chops.

Chef Seamus Mullen explains why you should read on the floor and put eggs on your dinner plate.

Say that three times fast! Watch closely toward the end of the cooking time and remove from oven when the eggs have plenty of wobble left in them for this shakshuka recipe.

Steam, fluff; steam, fluff. This couscous recipe is time-consuming but worth it.

This chermoula sauce recipe is even better if it sits for a while to let the flavors meld.

An extra chile for this harissa recipe will play up the heat, and if you’re feeling confident, you can customize the mix of spices as well.

Let’s put it this way: If you like salsa verde, you’ll love charmoula, a spiced marinade central to Algerian, Libyan, Moroccan, and Tunisian cooking. 

We've flavored the lamb shanks with North African spices and woken up the rich meat and vegetables with a handful of pomegranate seeds and fresh mint leaves sprinkled on just before serving.

Serve any leftovers with grilled fish, or spoon into yogurt for a savory dip.

Prolific and influential cookbook author, Paula Wolfert, is a true adventurer, in and out of the kitchen. We spoke to Wolfert to learn more about the Kickstarter for her new biography-combo-cookbook, Unforgettable.

A colorful and spicy (but not fiery!) side breaks up all the heavy, rich dishes on the table.

Chef Cassie Piuma of Sarma, in Somerville, MA, makes big batches of this bright North African sauce to minimize at-home chopping, then uses it all week.